Indonesia Considers Revising E-commerce Regulations to Prioritize Local SME Products

On March 17, it was reported that Indonesia's Ministry of Trade is reassessing and revising regulations related to e-commerce. Trade Minister Budi Santoso stated that the move aims to strengthen supervision of online transactions, ensuring regulatory capabilities keep pace with the growth in e-commerce platform transaction volumes, thereby more effectively protecting consumer rights. He reiterated that the government will continue to monitor online trading activities and follow up on public reports involving online fraud, with relevant consumer complaints handled by the Directorate of Consumer Protection and Business Order under the ministry. Currently, the primary regulation governing digital transactions in Indonesia is Trade Minister Regulation No. 31 of 2023. It is understood that one of the directions under discussion in this regulatory revision is the formulation of new rules to ensure that products from local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) receive more prominent display space and priority on digital platforms, in order to drive the digital transformation and sales growth of domestic SMEs.